coincidental

adjective co·in·ci·den·tal \ (ˌ)kō-ˌin(t)-sə-ˈden-tᵊl \

Updated on: 21 May 2018

Definition of coincidental

1 : resulting from a coincidence

a coincidental resemblance

2 : occurring or existing at the same time

coincidental deaths

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Examples of coincidental in a Sentence

The fact that he and his boss went to the same college was purely coincidental.
the nearly coincidental deaths of Princess Diana and Mother Teresa

Recent Examples of coincidental from the Web

The timing of the two events was coincidental: Conroy, in fact, had been fired by Ryan two weeks earlier but did not reveal the dismissal until an interview with The New York Times last Thursday.

— ronald brownstein, CNN, "Is the GOP at risk of losing Catholics?," 1 May 2018
Mr Beck claims that Rocket Lab’s decision to build Launch Complex 1 is coincidental to his nationality.

— The Economist, "Is New Zealand the world’s best rocket-launching site?," 5 Apr. 2018
There are also sinister, if mostly coincidental, similarities between American and German technologies of death.

— naomi fry, The New Yorker, "How American Racism Influenced Hitler," 23 Apr. 2018
The timing of the payout -- so close to the 2016 election -- was purely coincidental, Cohen has said.

— chris cillizza, CNN, "Here's why the FBI could seize 'privileged' documents from Michael Cohen," 10 Apr. 2018
The timing most likely is coincidental, as the military evaluates those eligible for promotion months before their nominations are sent to Congress.

— andrew degrandpre, BostonGlobe.com, "Ronny Jackson, Trump’s pick for Veterans Affairs, may pass up $1 million to join the Cabinet," 8 Apr. 2018
Evgeni Malkin tallied the next one after Voracek’s hooking penalty created a 4-on-3 Penguins advantage following coincidental minors.

— ed barkowitz, Philly.com, "Flyers penalize themselves in loss to Penguins in NHL playoffs," 15 Apr. 2018
And here’s something coincidental, but interesting, regarding that: Clifford mentioned around the time Walker was setting the franchise scoring record that Spurs coach Gregg Popovich admires Walker’s game.

— rick bonnell, charlotteobserver, "Trade Howard? Pursue Leonard? Start Monk? What will Hornets do? Here are your answers | Charlotte Observer," 14 Apr. 2018
In a coincidental pairing, both starting pitchers were college signees coming off unbeaten junior seasons.

— nate bryan, The Courier-Journal, "St. Xavier baseball downs rival Trinity to stay unbeaten," 12 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'coincidental.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.